https://i.imgur.com/8N672Jc.png

That's what I'm seeing on startup. The "I'm guessing this was the settings" option in the menu led to this:

https://i.imgur.com/13s3SR6.png

Anyone got any clue what the game is doing?

Following this up for anyone with the same issue...

I've had responses from the devs on Steam and Twitter, and another member of the game's community provided a solution on Steam - not a total fix, but a workaround. The bug fixes itself in short order, and you can start a new game or load a save, get the bug gone, then exit and resume from your last proper save. It's a little time consuming when first starting up, but it's not too bad. The game is a lot of fun, and I'm impressed with the communication from the devs.